Chapter 8 - THE TICKING CLOCK
The red digital numbers glowed furiously in the damp darkness.
$00:58... 00:57... 00:56$...
Vivian’s eyes bulged behind her gag.
Muffled screams escaped her throat as she shook her head frantically.
"Daddy, what is that?" Elodie whispered, burying her face deeper into Nathaniel’s shoulder.
"Close your eyes, Elodie," Nathaniel instructed, his voice remaining eerily calm.
He handed Elodie to Alma.
"Take her outside to the armored SUV. Now."
Alma didn't hesitate.
She scooped the little girl into her arms and sprinted toward the exit.
Marcus knelt beside Vivian, examining the intricate wiring of the explosive device strapped to her torso.
C4 plastic explosives.
Detonation cord wired directly into a digital timer.
"It's a dead-man switch," Marcus muttered, his brow furrowing as he studied the green and blue wires.
"If we cut the wrong wire, or if the heart monitor pulse stops... boom."
Nathaniel stood over Vivian.
His expression was unreadable.
"They didn't just want to kill the Moriartys," Nathaniel realized aloud.
"They wanted to tie up loose ends."
"Vivian was never the mastermind," Marcus agreed, pulling wire cutters from his tactical belt.
"She was a pawn. Disposable."
Vivian began to hyperventilate.
Tears streamed down her painted cheeks, ruining her makeup.
She thrashed against the ropes.
Marcus ripped the duct tape off her mouth.
"Please! Nathaniel, save me!" Vivian sobbed hysterically.
"I didn't know they would do this! They said they just wanted the ledgers!"
"Who said?" Nathaniel demanded, kneeling down beside her.
His face inches from hers.
"Who gave you the bomb?"
"It was... it was my uncle!" Vivian choked out.
"Senator Sterling!"
Marcus froze, his wire cutter hovering over the blue wire.
"Senator Sterling?" Marcus repeated.
"The head of the Senate Intelligence Committee?"
"Yes!" Vivian cried.
"He wanted control of the syndicate routes to fund his presidential campaign!"
"He said if I helped frame Alma and break your trust, he would make me first lady of the underworld!"
The betrayal hung heavy in the air.
A senator utilizing state power to back a criminal syndicate.
"Fifty seconds," Marcus warned, glancing at the glowing red display.
$00:50... 00:49$...
Nathaniel stared at Vivian.
At the woman who had terrorized his seven-year-old daughter.
Who had laughed while cutting a maid's hair.
Who had brought assassins into his home.
And now, begged for her life.
"Nathaniel, please!" Vivian shrieked.
"You loved me! We were going to be married!"
"I never loved you, Vivian," Nathaniel said quietly.
"I loved the idea of a mother for Elodie."
"You proved tonight you are a monster."
"You're not going to leave me here?" she screamed as the timer ticked closer to zero.
$00:30... 00:29$...
Nathaniel stood up.
He picked up his trench coat.
"Marcus," Nathaniel commanded.
"Cut the blue wire."
"Boss, it's a 50/50 chance," Marcus warned.
"Do it."
Marcus snipped the wire.
The red digital display flickered.
Stuttered.
And went completely dark.
The explosive was disarmed.
Vivian slumped forward against the wooden pallet, gasping for air, sobbing hysterically in relief.
Nathaniel turned his back on her.
"Leave her tied to the pallet," Nathaniel instructed Marcus.
"Send an anonymous tip to the federal anti-corruption task force."
"Let her uncle explain why his niece was wearing his syndicate C4."
As Nathaniel walked out of the warehouse into the pouring rain, he pulled out his encrypted satellite phone.
He dialed a single number.
"Assemble the inner circle," Nathaniel ordered into the receiver.
May you like
"We're going to pay a visit to Senator Sterling."
Cliffhanger: As Nathaniel’s SUV pulled away from Pier 49, a black sedan parked across the street flashed its headlights three times, and a voice over the police scanner announced: "All units, a high-priority warrant has just been issued for Nathaniel Rook... for domestic terrorism."
